The Ohio House of Representatives this week passed one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the country one that would penalize doctors for performing an abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected and pose a potential challenge to Roe v. Wade.
A fetal heartbeat can be detected by an ultrasound as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, a time during which most women are unaware they are pregnant.
Under the bill, approved Thursday by a vote of 60 to 35, performing an abortion on a fetus with a heartbeat would result in a fifth-degree felony, which is punishable in Ohio by up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The bill now heads to the Ohio Senate.
The measure includes no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors may, however, make an exception during a medical emergency or if an abortion would save a womans life.
Representative Christina Hagan, the lead sponsor of the bill, said in an interview on Friday that it was crafted specifically to challenge Roe v. Wade, the 45-year-old Supreme Court decision that made abortion a constitutional right.
We believe Ohio is best positioned to send this through the Circuit Courts and to the federal Supreme Court, said Ms. Hagan, a Republican who campaigned on behalf of President Trump.
She said she was confident the bill would become law by the end of the year. Both the House and the Senate have a Republican-dominated veto-proof majority.
In 2016, Gov. John Kasich vetoed a bill prohibiting abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. We did not have the strength in the majority to overcome that veto, Ms. Hagan said, adding, We do now.